A beach is a wide area of sand, pebbles or stone that runs along the coast. It is formed by waves breaking on the coast.

Beaches are not very thick. Under every beach there is rock. The beach is just a thin covering.

What kind of material is on the beach depends on what the waves are moving about. In some places, such as southern England, the waves tend to move pebbles (called shingle) in times of storm, and so the beaches are pebbly, at least at the back.

Beaches are changed all the time by the waves. Some waves push material up the beach, others comb it down. So you are never likely to see the beach looking the same from one year to the next, or even, sometimes, from one day to the next. Most changes take place when there are winter storms about. Then the waves are at their most powerful.

You never find a beach on a headland because the waves are too powerful to let sand settle. Beaches are found in more sheltered bays.